Ginza Bairin

I remembered the last time I had Ginza Bairin (click) and it was in Singapore a few months ago. 

  

I had wanted to give it another try after that not so good experience but, going to Makati is really not for me. (if you know me, you know I don't like going there to drive and all...) 

Thankfully, it opened a branch in in UP Town Center just a few weeks ago.

 Unlike in Sg, where you go to a counter to order and pay first, here it is somewhat a more chill manner and let the staff handle everything for you. Just the way it should be.

The place isn't that big. Around 50 patrons could be accommodated both inside and outside. 

The set up is more or less the same with Yabu (click, click and click) and Saboten (click).

They let you grind the sesame seeds and add up their sauce.

 They also give you some cabbage to lessen the unhealthyness of all the fried goodness they serve.

For starters, we had their potato croquettes. 

 Reminds me of potato balls of tokyo tokyo past. These are huge and mushy inside but crunchy outside. I was actually looking for something to dip this in as no sauce was served. I just used their katsu sauce in lieu of one specially made for this dish. Maybe next time they could develop a special sauce.

Something like tartar but better.

 Another awesome starter is their gyoza.

 Their take on this classic is that they make it more chewy but not to a point that it gets hard to eat.

 The fillings were full of greens and tasted fresh.

Since there was a lot of us, I wasn't able to take a photo of everything ordered but here are the mains:

 Chicken katsu for kuya. Needless to say, he finished everything and asked for a 2nd helping of cabbage.

 Mom had their katsu curry.

 She just tasted it and gave it all to me. I guess she didn't like going curry. You can choose its spice level from regular to hot.

The meat is soft and tender. Not like the kurobuta I had in their SG's restaurant. The sauce is thick and juicy. It had a few cuts of potatoes and carrots that absorbed the curry flavor.

My brother had their special katsudon.

 Getting ready for a cholesterol overload, this would be the dish for you. I believe this is one of their specialty (the other being the unagi katsu.. next time next time..). One egg on top, which was super runny. Another one fried up to coat the meat. The sauce was delightful.

Kunyare diet ako...so I got their "sandwich katsu".

 The bread was soft and easily melts in your mouth. The katsu inside had their sweet sauce which made this a treat to eat.

 I could easily picture myself getting this for a light snack.

Generally, I enjoyed my food experience here compared to SG. The service was a little rough at the start of our meal but I did feel they tried to make up for it. (I'm snotty when it comes to the little details...like asking twice for something... LOL). The price is very competitive. They offer the same refillables and make rounds to make sure everything is complete.

It was actually fun seeing and accidentally bumping into my cousins and the bf of my younger cuz. It was nice to eat Sunday dinner with you guys. 

di naman nag usap usap na magkita sa UP Town Center  LOL!

Ginza Bairin
Up Town Center
1st floor
Near Ihop
Katipunan, Quezon City

Disclaimer: we paid for our food. We weren't asked to make a write up nor were we compensated.